Official Prepared To Give Up Push For Pit Bull Law

April 16, 1986|By Rick Pierce, Staff Writer

Broward County Commissioner Howard Forman, who has pushed through two laws regulating pit bulls, said Thursday following another unfavorable court ruling that he is ready to drop the idea of regulating the dogs -- at least for now.

``I think that`s the end of this particular ordinance,`` Forman said, referring to his latest attempt to control the animals. ``I`ll continue to research the matter, but I don`t see anything right now.``

Forman made his comments after Broward Circuit Judge Paul Marko III ruled Thursday that the county`s definition of pit bulls was vague and that it couldn`t enforce its latest pit bull ordinance until a final hearing on the matter.

Such rulings are generally considered a tip-off as to the way a judge is leaning in a case.

``If you lose in the preliminary injunction stage, generally you don`t prevail,`` said Sharon Murphy, the county`s assistant general counsel.

In fact, when U.S. District Judge Lenore Nesbitt issued a similar ruling last October, the County Commission repealed its pit bull law and drew up another ordinance -- the same one that Marko ruled on Thursday.

The first law, passed in September, devoted three pages to describing what the different pit bull breeds looked like. When those attempts were considered vague, county officials opted for a different approach.

In the second law, passed in February, they put the burden on the dog`s owners. Under that law, pit bulls were judged to be ``any dog which the owner should reasonably know contains as an element of its breeding, any part American Staffordshire Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier or Staffordshire Bull Terrier.``

Once again, however, a judge deemed the county`s definition was too vague.

The county`s pit bull laws were passed following a spate of attacks, including one on a letter carrier that left her with so many scars that even her doctor lost count of the number of stitches.

Patricia Attaway, one of the pit bull owners who filed suit trying to overturn the law, blamed the media for singling out pit bulls and ignoring the attacks of other dogs. And she charged that Forman was on a personal vendetta in an attempt to gain publicity.

``He is really wasting taxpayers` money,`` said Attaway, who lives in the unincorporated Ravenswood area.

Forman disagreed, saying that his efforts and that of the County Commission were an attempt to protect the public from the dogs, who are prone to attack without warning and whose jaws are considered the strongest of any dog.

Attaway said the county should single out vicious dogs, particularly those that have bitten people, and pass a law regulating such animals. Forman countered that the county already has such a law, but lacks enough animal control officers to enforce the ordinance.

He said, however, that he would be willing to meet with Attaway.

The latest pit bull law, as did the previous ordinance, required owners to leash and muzzle their dogs or keep them in a fully enclosed pen. The dogs were also required to be registered with the county`s Animal Control Division.

But the provision that upset pit bull owners the most was a clause requiring owners to carry $100,000 worth of liability insurance. The insurance was difficult to obtain, particularly for renters.

Most pit bull owners had chosen to ignore the law. Only 25 of the estimated 1,200 pit bull owners in the county have complied with the law, according to Rick Collord, Broward`s animal control director.

Attaway, meanwhile, said her 4 1/2-year-old pit bull, Jake, has never given her any problems.

``I own two cats, and I`ve never had any problems,`` she said. ``My dog is friendly with all animals.``